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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mark — a trace
  3. track — to keep track
  4. last — final
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. last — finally
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. content — the amount
  10. present — a gift
  11. content — happy
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — a song
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. last — to go on
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mark — a grade

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com